The Trade Read Online Free PDF Page B

vibrating, occasionally bouncing him around. He guessed he was travelling inside some sort of vehicle. Not Providence, though. They wouldn’t tie him up, would they?
Actually
, he thought,
nothing would surprise me
.
    He could sense other people around him, but he had no idea how many. They weren’t talking, but he could feel them watching to see if he was awake.
    Or were they? Was he just being paranoid? There was nothing else for it. He had to know. One way or another, he had to know.
    Gently, like the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings, Rex’s eyes began to open. Light flooded in, forcing him to blink rapidly. His eyes had just begun to adjust to the brightness when a shadow passed over him.
    Rex opened his eyes fully, just in time to see a massive fist come speeding towards his face.
    â€˜Lights out,’ said the familiar voice. Rex’s head thudded against the floor of the armoured car, and for the third time that day, he found himself slipping silently into unconsciousness.

CHAPTER 10
    A GENT S IX STOOD BEFORE a large viewing screen which was displaying a map of California. Beside him, a video screen blinked into life, showing White Knight’s face. The Providence leader looked unhappy at having been disturbed.
    â€˜This had better be good, Doctor,’ White Knight warned. ‘I am an extremely busy man.’
    Dr Holiday bit her tongue. ‘I’ll try not to keep you,
sir
,’ she said. She crossed to the wall displaying the map. Noah was already there, standing to one side, looking slightly awkward.
    Before Holiday could start to explain her findings, a door at the back of the room opened and Bobo strolled in. The chimp stretched, yawned, then adjusted his little red hat.
    â€˜What’s up?’ he asked. ‘What’d I miss?’
    â€˜Listen up,’ Six told him, not turning from the map. ‘We’re about to have it all spelled out.’
    Bobo shuffled over to join the rest of the group.
    Dr Holiday cleared her throat. ‘I was looking over Rex’s tests results, trying to figure out what was causing his machines to malfunction,’ she began.
    Bobo raised a hand. ‘Uh … malfunction?’
    â€˜Read the report,’ Six said.
    â€˜Can’t you just give me the highlights?’ Bobo asked. Reading reports wasn’t really his thing.
    â€˜Rex’s machines malfunctioned. Rex got kidnapped. That’s pretty much it,’ said Noah.
    â€˜Thanks, kid,’ said Bobo.
    â€˜No problem.’
    â€˜Can we get on with it?’ barked White Knight.
    Holiday nodded. ‘As I said, I was trying to figure out the cause of the malfunctions, but was getting nowhere. By the time I got him back here, his tests were more or less normal. Well, normal for Rex, anyway.’
    â€˜We already know this,’ said Agent Six. ‘What’s your point?’
    Dr Holiday glared at him. ‘I’m getting to my point,’ she said, coldly. ‘It was Noah who worked it out, really.’
    â€˜Worked what out?’ Six asked.
    Holiday pointed at the map. ‘Worked out thatthere wasn’t anything wrong with Rex. There was something at the battle sites that was making his nanites act strangely.’
    â€˜That was why he was fine whenever you brought him back in,’ Noah added.
    Agent Six thought about this. ‘OK, I’ll bite,’ he said, at last. ‘What was causing the problems.’
    â€˜Map, zoom sector eight-alpha,’ Dr Holiday said. On the wall behind her, the map zoomed in on a single area.
    â€˜What we looking at?’ Bobo asked.
    â€˜Silicon Valley,’ Dr Holiday announced.
    Bobo looked more closely at the map. ‘Don’t look like no valley to me,’ he said. ‘It’s all buildings and city blocks, far as I can see.’
    â€˜It
is
all buildings and city blocks,’ Dr Holiday explained. ‘Silicon Valley is home to some of the most high-tech companies